Owl-Hooting Night 1916 Poem by Terry Collett

In her cold bed
in the attic
which she shares

with the other maid Susie
Polly dreams
that George is there

and has his arms
around her waist
and is kissing her neck

and holding her
close to him
and she breathes in deep

and wants him
and turns to him
and it's not him

at all
it's Susie holding her
in sleep's hold

kissing lips
to her shoulder
in some dream

and Polly sighs
and wants it
to be George not her

and tries to release
the grip on her
by Susie's hands

and be off elsewhere
but she knows George
is in some hospital

some place with shell-shock
and not in his room
upstairs where once

he had her
and she swooned
in his bed

and was had
and had until dawn's
bright light

after the good deal
of sex
in the owl-hooting night.